My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. – Jeremiah 24:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2026): Jeremiah 24

A Japanese proverb says that "we learn little from victory, much from defeat." If it were not for the defeats in life, we would not grow in any of the areas of our lives. Our growth, to a great degree, depends on the challenges that we face, and our challenges often stem from the losses we suffer in life. Challenges and defeats help us to fine-tune our behavior, and they help us to identify bad behavioral strategies. All of this happens, that is, as long as we admit that we have been defeated.

Our various defeats are part of a plan that God uses to strengthen his people. As Jeremiah watches the first two groups of the people be carried into exile, God stresses that the purpose of the Babylonian Captivity was not to destroy Israel; it was to protect them. In the end, they would come back stronger. It wasn't the first time that God had used the strategy. Back at the very beginning of the nation, Israel was faced with the challenge of being absorbed by the much larger and stronger Canaanite nations. God's plan then involved sending this family into a self-imposed exile in Egypt. There the nation would grow and mature, and at the same time be isolated in a group with an opportunity to bond together into a national unit. The result was that 400 years later, Israel had become a nation that was capable of holding their own in Canaan, even if they doubted that fact themselves. It is into this situation that Moses steps to lead Israel into their future.

In Jeremiah's day, the nation was under threat once more. This time, they were about to be swallowed up by a wave of idolatry. As a result of the idolatry, God decided to repeat the strategy one more time. He took the best and brightest and allowed them to be taken into Babylon. There, God promised to protect them. Meanwhile, Jerusalem and the surrounding area would be cleansed. The seed that was the future of Israel would be protected until the time came for the nation to be planted once again in the Promised Land.

The problem, from the point of view of Israel, was that it felt like the biggest failure the nation had ever suffered, not a moment in which God was in control, or a moment that was to become the stepping-off point into the nation's future. Just as when Israel was in Egypt and the time came to raise up Moses and Aaron, God had plans, at the appropriate time, to raise up leaders like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel among other leaders who were capable of leading the nation back home one more time.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 25

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?" – Jeremiah 23:23

Today's Scripture Reading (August 20, 2026): Jeremiah 23

We seem to think that for God to care, he has to be close. So, exactly how close is God to the pinnacle of his creation? Our response to that question is often that he is closer than your next breath. However, the question that plagues me is: Is closeness a necessary trait of God? Does he have to be close in order for him to care? Is closeness an attribute of God's providence? Or is it possible for God to care and provide and not be closer than our next breath? Don't get me wrong, I believe that God is closer than our next breath, but he is also a God who can be, or at least seem to be, far away.

As Christians, we often have an adverse reaction to the concept of a Watchmaker God. A Watchmaker God is essentially seen as a God who has designed this world we share, but when creation was completed, God walked away. The concept of a Watchmaker God is built around the idea that I don't need the creator of the watch to stay with me for the watch to work. In the same way, a watchmaker creator would not be needed after the initial creation of the world. In fact, adopters of this theology often argue that a world that continually needs his presence to work is poorly created. If God created the world right, couldn't he just walk away from his creation and still have everything he created continue to function according to his specifications? However, we interpret these words, arguing that a God who would walk away from his creation would also be a God who doesn't care.

The argument is really a false one. God is close by. He is as close as the next breath. His providential care is not in question. However, God declares that while he is close, he is also far away. He is the ultimate watchmaker who builds his creation to get along without him. He is a God who could walk away. The reality that our God could walk away makes the fact that he is close even more amazing. He is close because he cares for us: you, me, and everyone that we come in contact with.

This is who we joyfully gather to worship.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 24

This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. – Jeremiah 22:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 19, 2026): Jeremiah 22

In November 1937, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka took control of the Japanese forces in China. He was placed in temporary command because of the illness of General Iwane Matsui. Because of the change in leadership, Asaka commanded the Japanese forces as they entered the Capital of the Republic of China, Nanking (now Nanjing), in early December 1937. The Chinese had decided not to defend Nanking after the fall of Shanghai because they felt defending the capital didn't make any logical sense. Regardless of what the Chinese Army did, the city would eventually fall to the advancing Japanese forces, so why waste soldiers on a city that could not be successfully defended? However, what the Japanese did in Nanking in late 1937 and early 1938 was something that the Chinese could never have imagined.

The event has been called the "Massacre of Nanking" or the "Rape of Nanking." The reason for the massacre was complex. The Japanese had been moving too fast. The supply line behind them had not been secured, and there were no reserve forces to be brought up to the front of the battle. And in the midst of all of this, Prince Asaka allegedly issued the order to "kill the captives." Whether it was really Asaka who issued the order, we will probably never know. But the whole world watched as events unfolded over the six weeks that followed the order. Estimates vary, but more than 200,000 civilians were killed, and 20,000 women ranging in age from children to the elderly were raped. Any military personnel left in the city were summarily executed. Altogether, the death toll in Nanking was over 300,000 people. There were no words or excuses that could be uttered to justify the events that took place in Nanking.

Jeremiah brings his people the word coming from God. Do what is just and right. Avoid the killing of the innocent, rescue the oppressed, and be concerned for the vulnerable. Even the foreigner was to be given God's protection. We are closest to exhibiting God's character when we engage in these things. In a massacre like the one that happened in Nanking, the will of God is never accomplished.

Because he was a member of the royal family, Prince Asaka could not be charged or punished. Later in life, he would convert to Roman Catholicism, becoming the first member of the imperial family to do so. General Iwane Matsui was not so lucky. In reviewing the aftermath of the Battle for Nanking, Matsui made this comment to an aide.

"I now realize that we have unknowingly wrought a most grievous effect on this city. When I think of the feelings and sentiments of many of my Chinese friends who have fled from Nanking and of the future of the two countries, I cannot but feel depressed. I am very lonely and can never get in a mood to rejoice about this victory" (General Iwane Matsui). 

General Matsui was found guilty of war crimes. His trial concluded with the judgment that Matsui knew what was happening in Nanking and failed to stop it. He was executed on December 23, 1948, at the age of 70, for his failure to protect the innocent.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23

Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us. – Jeremiah 21:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2026): Jeremiah 21

In Canada, we have, over the past couple of decades, been involved in the fiasco of Native Residential Schools. The last federally funded Residential School was not closed until 1996. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Christian Church meant well, that we even believed that we were following the will of God. But instead of helping the Native Canadians, the church helped to spread the disease of cultural assimilation, which aimed to beat the Aboriginal out of the First Nations children. Residential schools created an unacceptably high death rate in the schools. We weakened Native Canadian families and hindered their connection to their own culture. The church caused irreparable damage, and we continue to suffer the effects of the damage we created. And all of this because we moved ahead of God, and we tried to dress our own selfish will up as if it were the will of God.

We saw the same reaction during the Crusades, one of the darkest blots on Christianity's record. We ran ahead of God in declaring war against all who disbelieved in the Christian God. We were determined that we would tear from the hands of the infidels the city of Jerusalem. The cry of the Crusaders was simple: God wills it. But it doesn't appear that anyone actually asked if that was true. Instead, the Crusaders routinely killed people, and some of the victims were even Christians who just happened to be in the way of the Crusaders. 

We seem to have established a pattern: we act as we want to, and then ask God to perform a wonder to get us out of the trouble our actions have gotten us into. It is an old pattern. Jeremiah speaks to the pattern almost six centuries before Christ. Israel had set itself on a path that would ultimately carry it away from God. But when trouble came, then they went running to Jeremiah (they didn't have to go far; they had imprisoned him in the courtyard) and asked him to inquire of God. Maybe if Jeremiah asked, then God would move.

And so, we pray, "God move in this situation, even though we haven't listened to you, haven't asked the questions of you that we should have asked." And sometimes, God moves. But at other times, his response to us is much the same as it was to Jeremiah: "Now I am moving in a different direction. It didn't have to be this way, but this is the path that you have chosen, and I am willing to walk it in my way." Whenever we move ahead of God, destruction is always the result. History has shown it over and over again. And God wants us, needs us to understand that we need to hear his will before we embark on an action because we think "God wills it."

Maybe the church needs to join with Archbishop Michael Peers in his apology from the Anglican Church to the survivors of the Residential Schools.

I accept, and I confess before God and you, our failures in the residential schools. We failed you. We failed ourselves. We failed God.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system that took you and your children from home and family.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally.

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, I present our apology.

We are all sorry for the destruction that results whenever we move ahead of God. We are sorry for proclaiming that "God wills it" when God has done no such thing. And we are sorry for asking God to bail us out when all we needed to do was to listen to God in the first place. To the world, we ask for your forgiveness for our misrepresentation of God.

And we promise to listen better in the future.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 22

There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed. So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. – 2 Kings 25:21

Today's Scripture Reading (August 17, 2026): 2 Kings 25

The story is told of the early days of Abraham Lincoln's first term as President. In an unusual picture of humility, a common sight in Springfield was of the President-elect making his daily trip to the local post office to pick up his mail. Finally, Lincoln concluded that he needed help, and, with that determination in mind, early in 1861, he hired a young immigrant named John Nicolay as his private secretary. Nicolay would hold the office until Lincoln's assassination in 1865.

Nicolay was alarmed as he began reading the letters the President was receiving; many were threats against the newly elected President. Lincoln seemed to be unperturbed. Lincoln was unable to imagine how it could be that political hatred could ever be transformed into an attack that would cause physical harm. Yet, on the evening of his first inauguration, the president-elect found himself sneaking into Washington. At the same time, citizens who had planned the first assassination attempt on President Lincoln's life waited for him in Baltimore.

The strategy of killing the leaders is an ancient one. And as the saga of the Kingdom of Judah ends, that is exactly what happens. In all fairness to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar had tried other avenues, but the nation had repeatedly rebelled against his rule. And so, as he closes this chapter, he expels the people and kills the leaders, both political and religious, of the nation.

There is an almost eerie lack of emotion as the writer of 2 Kings announces the demise of the nation. A nation that began with acts of dependence on God and the faith of the people, first with the crossing of the Jordan at its flood stage when the water of the Jordan was the deepest and the swiftest, and then with the miraculous fall of the walled city of Jericho, over eight hundred years later ends with consecutive acts of idolatry, a dependence on other gods, and rebellion. It is with these acts of rebellion that the story of the nation ends. It had started as the story of a people given the honor of reaching the world and making it a better place. It ends as the people are scattered and driven from the land that God had promised to them, all because of their failure to fulfill that very responsibility that had been given to them by the God who had brought them out of Egypt in the first place.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 21

They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. – Ezekiel 23:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 16, 2026): Ezekiel 23

On December 7, 1941, at 7:48 in the morning, the first wave of Japanese fighters reached their target: Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Military base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers. The attack was intended to knock the United States out of World War II before it could formally enter the war. The overwhelming fight at Pearl Harbor was really a Japanese attempt to put into practice a military agenda that the United States, a few decades later, would master and label as "shock and awe." The intention was to demoralize the United States and convince them that they needed to stay out of the war. If they had succeeded in their mission, Japan would have been left unchallenged in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto hatched the Pearl Harbor plan. But the Admiral quickly realized his error. Pride had led Japan into a fatal blunder. Yamamoto warned his colleagues just after the Pearl Harbor attack that "I fear all we have done is awaken the sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve." No words could have been truer. With the help of her allies (England, Australia, Canada, and the Soviet Union), American vengeance would be swift and complete. In the end, Japanese pride would cost them two of their largest cities as well as cause an embarrassing surrender of Japan to the United States.

As Ezekiel begins to describe the reason for the defeat of Judah, he describes the situation with a story of two adulterous sisters. The story itself has been called lewd and vulgar, and some have refused to read the story in public. But the words used in the story accurately describe the situation and the history of Judah. Ezekiel begins his story in Egypt. And the event he attempts to describe is Aaron's building of the golden calf, an act buried deep in the nation's past. In a moment when Israel was deeply indebted to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because of the marvelous acts that he had performed in the presence of the Pharaoh, which included the parting of the Red Sea as Israel made their miraculous escape from the Egyptian army, the building of the golden calf was an incredibly vulgar and adulterous act which revealed the pride of a people who seemed to believe that they could serve whatever God they wanted. It was a pride that insisted that the people of Israel were indebted to no one.

The act would set the nation up for a series of vulgar adulterous acts throughout her history, all led by her pride that insisted that she could do whatever it was that she wanted. And she had decided that her future lay with gods other than Yahweh. That pride had been Israel's blunder, and the result was a reality through which Ezekiel and his friends in exile were now being forced to live. Their adulterous pride contained the seeds of their eventual defeat, and that day had finally arrived.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 25

As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath on you.'" – Ezekiel 22:22

Today's Scripture Reading (August 15, 2026): Ezekiel 22

In 2014, NASCAR's Brad Keselowski spun out on lap 137, trying to make up a lap. Earlier in the race, Keselowski was involved in an incident with Danica Patrick, and he had been chasing the race ever since. But on lap 137, Keselowski, essentially out of the race by that time, aggressively tried to make up a lap. The spinout resulted in a crash involving 14 cars and shut down the track for over 10 minutes. What caused a backlash at the time was that Keselowski had criticized Matt Kenseth the week before for essentially doing the same thing. The issue did not seem to be that Keselowski's aggressive driving caused the pile-up, although drivers would like him to ease up a little. The real issue seems to be that Keselowski was still driving aggressively even though he was essentially out of the race. Some of the big names in the sport would have liked Keselowski to learn the difference between driving aggressively when the race was still in doubt and driving aggressively when there is no possibility of winning, or even of placing in the important top ten.

As far as Keselowski was concerned, if he was on the track and had a steering wheel in his hands, he wanted to compete to the best of his abilities. To be honest, this is the attitude of a winner. In any other sport, we want to see our teams compete until the final whistle, no matter how lopsided the score might be.

What we sometimes miss is that heat (and fire), whether we are talking about a competitive fire in sports or a physical fire, often come with two very different outcomes. One is to destroy. Fire burns and destroys what it touches. We witness the destructive power of fire whenever it breaks out in places where we don't want it, and we put in significant effort to fight it. But the second purpose of fire is to cleanse. Here, destruction is not the purpose; fire removes the impurities within something. For Keselowski in 2014, maybe that was the hope. No one wanted the figurative fire of criticism to destroy the drivers; rather, they hoped Keselowski, Kenseth, and others would emerge as better, more competitive NASCAR drivers as a direct result of the heat and scrutiny focused on their aggressive driving techniques at various stages of a race. The purpose of the fire of criticism was to purify and make the drivers better, and maybe a little safer on the track.

Biblically, it is often hard to tell the difference between these two fires. But it seems that the biblical use of fire is often for the second purpose, not the first. Some have even argued that the fires of Revelation, which we often take as purely destructive, are really intended to have a purification aspect.

But in Ezekiel, the author really leaves us no doubt. Even though we are told that it is God's wrath that has burned toward Israel, this is not about the destruction of the nation; it is about purification and making something better out of what has come before. And the clue is that Ezekiel speaks about the melting of silver, a melting which is done very purposefully for purification reasons. While God's wrath may have been part of the reason for the exile, the overwhelming message is that God is not done with Israel yet. He still has more in store for his people. God's intention was and still is to burn away everything that does not belong so that it is only the pure us, which is actually the real us, that is left.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 23

Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel. – Ezekiel 21:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 14, 2026): Ezekiel 21

Jews (and admittedly Christians) from all over the world are drawn to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Western Wall is believed to be the outer wall of the western perimeter section of the partition that separated the court area of the Temple in Jerusalem from the rest of the city, or, more precisely, the Second Temple, which the Romans destroyed in 70 C.E. Still, the wall stands as a testimony to the power of Holy places in our lives. The Temple itself is no longer standing; the Ark of the Covenant and the holy relics are long gone, lost to antiquity, and yet this one wall still exerts its strange attraction on literally millions of people on our planet. And for each of these people, the wall provides a very tangible connection to God.

Maybe for the Christian, the wall we worship at is much closer. A while back, a gentleman walked into the church looking for a connection with God. He asked if he could take some time to pray in the sanctuary. After I said he could, he walked into the sanctuary, and I returned to my office. A few minutes later, he came to me looking a little confused. Why didn't our church have a cross? I smiled and said that it did, but it just wasn't where he expected it to be. In our sanctuary, the cross is in the middle of a side wall over the baptistery. My new friend returned to the sanctuary and located the cross.  A few minutes later, when I went to check on him, I found him kneeling at the side of the church as close to the cross as he could get. For him, the cross was his Western Wall and the point of his connection with God.

What sometimes surprises people is that we are often more attracted to these Holy Places than God would seem to be. God's requirement has always been that we live in obedience to him. And sacrifice and prayers at a particular Holy Place always take second place to that obedience. Therefore, God instructs Ezekiel to set his face against the city of Jerusalem, and more specifically against the sanctuary; against the Temple of God. It seems that, as far as God is concerned, if there is no obedience, there is no need for a Holy Place.

As God sets his face against the Temple, he seals the fate of the Holy Place. Without God, the Temple could not stand. Some experts think that it was not just the destruction of Solomon's Temple at the hands of the Babylonian Empire that God is speaking of, but also of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. at the hands of the Romans; the very destruction that left only the Western Wall standing. So, we continue to travel to the wall; to pray, to wail, and to ask of God what his plans are for our future. And as we come to the wall, God reminds us that we don't need a Holy place; we never have. We just need to decide to be obedient to him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 22

Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign LORD.' – Ezekiel 20:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 13, 2026): Ezekiel 20

Robert Mugabe (1924-2019) is consistently labeled one of the worst rulers of the contemporary world. When he was elected as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980, Zimbabwe was a model African nation. Its economy was growing, and its currency was stronger than the U.S. dollar. Then, Mugabe became the nation's supreme leader. His critics also note that Mugabe's popularity was in free fall from almost the moment his reign began. Mugabe was accused of repeatedly abusing his position and cheating against his opposition, and that the only opinion that he really wants to hear is his own. During the 1988 Zimbabwe elections, it was rumored that Mugabe told his supporters that he would accept the election results only if he won (Hmmm, reminds me of someone else). In later elections, he used coercion, intimidation, and beatings to remain in power. As a result, Zimbabwe is considered one of the most corrupt and least transparent nations in the world. Political observer Heidi Holland makes this comment about Mugabe's legacy.

The story of Robert Mugabe is a microcosm of what bedevils African democracy and economic recovery at the beginning of the 21st century. It is a classic case of a genuine hero—the guerrilla idol who conquered the country's former leader and his white supremacist regime—turning into a peevish autocrat whose standard response to those suggesting he steps down is to tell them to get lost. It is also the story of activists who try to make a better society but bear the indelible scars of the old system. Mugabe's political education came from the autocrat Ian Smith, who had learnt his formative lessons from imperious British colonisers (Heidi Holland).

As the elders of the Israelites in exile come to Ezekiel, their visit suggests they wanted to inquire of the prophet what God would have them do. I mean, why else would you go to visit a prophet, and in this case, the pre-eminent prophet of the exile in Babylon? But God sees something else. The truth was that the leaders did not care what God was saying. They just needed the appearance of going to the prophet to inquire of God. In the end, all they wanted to do was follow their own desires. And unfortunately, it does not seem to occur to them that it was the pursuit of their own desires that led to their exile in the first place.

I wish this were a story fully contained in the past, but it continues today. Too many people go to church not because they want to inquire of God, but because they want to give the appearance of doing so. And too many Christians are too obsessed with following their own beliefs rather than hearing whatever it is that God might be saying to them. Too often, it seems the Christian Church would rather lean on its own understanding than search for the message that comes from God. It is a situation that needs desperately to change. Our world does not need to hear more of what the Christian Church thinks; however, it urgently needs to hear from the God of all Creation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 21

 

 

 

Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water. – Ezekiel 19:10

Today's Scripture Reading (August 12, 2026): Ezekiel 19

In 2014, the CBS show "48 Hours" decided to use portions of a four-minute voicemail, recorded by Danielle Thomas just moments before she was murdered, on the weekly show. In fact, it might be that the moment of her murder is caught on the audio tape. The decision to air portions of the recording was controversial. Those close to Thomas did not want to hear the tape and wished that CBS would reverse its decision. However, millions of others most likely did want to hear Thomas' final words. Maybe it is a sign of our morbid preoccupation with death (even though death is something about which we seldom speak in Western Culture). But I wonder if the more likely cause is that we want desperately to make sense out of life, and a young woman being killed in the prime of her life doesn't make sense. So, we struggle for details. We want to know the answers to our questions, as if, in the act of knowing, we can make sense of the tragedy. But often it is a fool's chase; some things just don't make sense.

We often play the game at funerals. We like to trace the life; we give eulogies (sometimes very long ones) that attempt to reference the life we are celebrating, a life that has now ended. We tell stories of life that are intended to ease the pain, but sometimes seem to heighten it, especially if the one who has died did so before their time. All of this is just part of what we do, and these words are ways for us to try to move past the tragic ending of a life. I do not think that we ever heal from these times of sorrow (I know that I am often reminded of the people who were important to me who have passed away, and always with a fresh feeling of pain). Still, survival in our world requires that we somehow get past the pain and sorrow so we can get on with life.

In many ways, Ezekiel 19 is a eulogy for a life that was cut short. The princes of Israel may remain, but the nation (the mother of the passage) is now totally gone. In Ezekiel's story, there are no remnants and no life. Ezekiel begins to look back over the life of the nation, and what he sees is a life that began with so much promise. The vine (Mother Israel) was planted close to the water. In ancient times, especially in the heat of the Middle East, a vine had to be planted near water if it was going to produce fruit. And Ezekiel declares that Mother Israel bore fruit, at least for a time.

Ezekiel also describes the vine as full of branches. Israel had been a place where all the tribes, the descendants of Jacob, could find life and, perhaps more importantly, peace. There was no violent breaking off of branches on the vine, at least not until the Assyrian captivity for the Northern Tribes, and now this snuffing out of Judah and Benjamin by Babylon.

However, what had started with such potential had now ended. All that was left were the cries of the princes in a place that was not their own. It was a sad story of a life ending early and of a promise never fully realized. But the story is supposed to be sad, after all, it is a eulogy being given at a funeral, it is the last words being recorded on tape before an untimely death. We are not supposed to find good things here; this passage is all about potential that has ended before its time. And Ezekiel's final words of the chapter remind us of this single-focused reality. "This is a lament and is to be used as a lament" (Ezekiel 19:14).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 20

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! – Ezekiel 18:32

Today's Scripture Reading (August 11, 2026): Ezekiel 18

Clayton Lockett was not a "good" man. His life had been horrible, almost from the beginning. He was raised by his father, who regularly abused him and began forcing him to take drugs at the age of three. Dad also taught him how to steal without being caught. The talent for theft was something that Locket was able to put into practice.

Lockett was sixteen when he pleaded no contest to charges of intimidating state witnesses. That same year, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to burglary and knowingly concealing stolen property. He received a seven-year prison sentence for the crime.

The sixteen-year-old Lockett was incarcerated at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, an adult prison. There he was gang raped by three adult male prisoners. When Lockett emerged from prison, his criminal way of life continued. Everything came to a head when he kidnapped and shot nineteen-year-old Stephanie Neiman. By the time he was finally arrested, he was charged and convicted of a long list of crimes: first-degree murder, seven counts of rape, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of robbery, first-degree burglary, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, and conspiracy.

On October 5, 2000, Lockett was sentenced to death plus 2,285 years. Some of us take a look at the life of Clayton Lockett, and we see someone who never had a chance. We don't know everything. But from the time of his birth, it seems that Lockett was trained in how to be someone so evil that the death penalty was almost assured. 

Clayton Lockett died on April 29, 2014. I use the word died instead of executed because Lockett's execution matched his life; it was botched from the very beginning. Lockett was to be executed by lethal injection. An untried cocktail of drugs was used. Lockett fought the execution, so getting the drugs into him was a problem. Finally, he was sedated, and the execution of Clayton Lockett began. But three minutes after the execution began, Lockett seemed to wake up and said, "Something's wrong." He attempted to get up from the table. His lawyer said it looked like torture. For the next half hour, Lockett fought the drugs in obvious pain. Finally, the life of Clayton Lockett came to an end with a heart attack. No lifesaving measures were used to revive him. It took forty-three minutes for Clayton Lockett to die.

Should Lockett have died? I am not a proponent of Capital Punishment, but in the case of Clayton Lockett, part of me thinks that we eventually put a man out of the misery that life had been since the beginning of his existence. However, I am disturbed by the racial differences in how the decision to execute is made (Clayton Lockett was an African American). Add to that a report from The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which proclaims that out of every 1000 executions, forty-one of the executed criminals are actually innocent. One innocent man condemned to death is too many, 4.1% becomes immoral. There simply has to be another way.  

Sometimes I wonder if it is we, the ones who are doing the executing, who are emotionally stunted. Too many people seem to live for payback and vengeance. But the problem is that even when payback comes, we find it unsatisfying. The pain inside of us remains - the only difference is that now we get to spread it around.

God speaks of this. He says, "I take no pleasure in the death of anyone." Maybe we need to stress "anyone." In fact, God is so repelled by death that, as far as he is concerned, repentance is enough to stop it. He seems to be telling the exiles through Ezekiel that it is not too late. Even with all of the sins that they had committed and the magnitude of their crimes, God desperately wanted to find another way out of the situation, so that death would not be involved.

And I hope that that is where our culture finds itself one day. I love the pictures of the protestors carrying signs that say "Don't kill for me." I think the message reflects God's deep purposes. So let me join them by saying, don't kill for me, either.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 19

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. – Ezekiel 17:22

Today's Scripture Reading (August 10, 2026): Ezekiel 17

Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was a physicist and best-selling author of "A Brief History of Time" (not to mention the intellectual idol and sometime antagonist of Sheldon Cooper on the television comedy "The Big Bang Theory"). Hawking admitted that the idea of artificial intelligence scared him. With so many advances in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as the number of companies and the amount of money that is being spent to chase after the elusive dream, the science fiction plot device might not be all that far off. In fact, we are already seeing forms of artificial intelligence in our daily lives, including self-driving cars and digital personal assistants like Google Now. Even my phone insists on telling me driving times to places without being asked, simply because it knows that I have been there before. More than once, my phone has interrupted my teaching because it thinks it is a much better teacher than I am. I am reading more and more articles that include a disclaimer stating that they were "written by humans, assisted by AI." Artificial intelligence is creating fake photos and videos that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. If your politician says something stupid, just blame it on AI. 

For Hawking, the problem of artificial intelligence comes down to who is controlling the intelligence. In the wrong hands, artificial intelligence could be a weapon unlike any we have seen before. For Hawking, the larger problem is whether an independent artificial intelligence could be controlled at all. And if it can't be controlled, what would happen then? Hawking didn't know the answer to that question, and he was pretty sure that no one else did, either. His solution is to pause the development of artificial intelligence while the scientific community ponders the appropriate questions and holes in our knowledge. While Hawking believes we might be technologically ready to make the leap toward artificial intelligence, he is also sure that in every other area of our existence, we are simply not mature enough to take that leap.    

Ezekiel tells a parable about two eagles and a vine. The eagles represented the two major powers in Israel's circle of influence. The eagles represented the Empires of Babylon and Egypt. The vine itself represents Israel. And according to the story, the vine is threatened by the one eagle, and so it creeps toward the other. But in the end, the second eagle cannot help the vine, and so the vine is uprooted. The reality for the people of the time was that the two eagles seemed unstoppable. The vine would not just be uprooted; it looked as if it would be permanently destroyed.

But this is when God steps in. He, too, has a shoot of the vine; one that he had taken from the top of a cedar. And he, too, decides to plant the vine. Only God doesn't plant it in the lush valley. He plants it on the top of the mountain, not the most advantageous place to plant a vine. But according to the story, while the vine in the valley would be destroyed, the remnant God would plant on the mountain would survive. The identification of that remnant from the mountain is evident in the Israel that was born after most of the nation had been exiled. This Israel remained in Canaan, living in constant danger and without the support of a nation. This Israel was one that ultimately mirrored the coming of a Messiah who would not be born in a palace but in a manger. It almost seems like a fiction dreamed up by Artificial Intelligence, but it is a truth that we don't confront often enough. No matter the challenges, it is the remnant that would survive because God had decreed it.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 18

Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!" – Ezekiel 16:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 9, 2026): Ezekiel 16

The Harappan Civilization existed in the Indus Valley in modern-day Pakistan 4500 years ago. The modern significance of the Harappan Civilization is in the discovery of advanced architectural wonders and in the mystery of what happened to them. At the height of the culture, the Indus Valley inhabitants appear to have had a writing system, a well-developed trade and transportation system, and an interest in producing significant works of art. Aiding the civilization's ability to create great architectural marvels was the development in the valley of precise methods for measuring length, weight, and time. The people of the Indus Valley were among the first peoples on Earth to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. All of this should have placed the Indus Valley residents on the fast track to success. Yet somewhere between 3000 and 3500 years ago, the Harappan people mysteriously disappeared. Some experts have postulated a violent end to the Harappan Civilization, but we really do not have any evidence of that. It appears that they just faded away.

One of the proposed culprits behind the end of the Harappan Civilization was simple climate change. It appears that local environmental conditions in the Indus Valley changed around the time the civilization disappeared. The monsoon system that allowed the valley's vegetation to flourish weakened and shifted eastward. The weather change led to a cooler, drier world in the Indus Valley. As a result, the crops that they had traditionally planted refused to grow. Starvation would have followed. Many inhabitants probably died, and others moved on, leaving the remains of their civilization for us to find and a mystery to examine.

In the ancient world, it didn't take much for a civilization to die. Many did; some left us puzzles we can solve; others left us stories to tell and retell. Still others have achieved the status of myth and legend. We are no longer even sure if some of these civilizations ever existed because they have left no evidence for us to discover. The mystery of Atlantis would fall into that category. One researcher humorously admitted that the only way we will ever be able to prove that Atlantis existed is if we find a sign that says, "Atlantis: Population 58,672." And there are a multitude of civilizations that have disappeared so quickly that we don't wonder about them because they didn't get to live long enough to give us anything to remember them by.

God says that Israel should have been one of those short-lived civilizations. Ezekiel compares the birth of Israel to the biological birth of a baby. In biological births, there is a set procedure, a list of things that must be done if the baby is going to survive; the umbilical cord has to be cut and properly tied off, and the baby has to be cleaned and sterilized to minimize the risk of infection. The baby then needs to be fed and protected. But in the early days of Israel, none of these elemental things were done. The newborn nation was simply dumped in the desert of Egypt. It existed in its own pain and in its own blood. There was no reason for Israel to survive.

However, Israel did survive. And according to Ezekiel, the only explanation for life was that God spoke the word over them, commanding them to live. Israel does not belong among all of the lost civilizations of the world, even though it really should. With Israel, the real mystery is how the nation survived. And the answer is that they live because God has decreed it; no other reason is needed.

I believe that God is still speaking the same words over his church. There is no reason why the Christian Church has survived for the past 2000 years. It is certainly not because of anything that the church has done. The only reason that I can discern for why we still exist is simply that God has spoken over his church and commanded her to live. And we will live until God stops speaking.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 17

 

 

 

Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? – Ezekiel 15:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 8, 2026): Ezekiel 15

Years after the event, Monica Lewinsky finally broke her silence on a story that captured the imaginations of a generation during the late 1990s. Lewinsky's affair with then-President Bill Clinton was stuff that seemed to be designed for the tabloids. But it isn't the tabloids that Lewinsky blames in hindsight. Lewinsky said, "Thanks to the DRUDGE REPORT (an American-based news aggregation website), I was … possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet." And she is probably right. It isn't that Lewinsky believes herself to be a victim. The only person she publicly seems to want to blame is herself. She says that she "deeply regrets" what happened between her and President Clinton. However, maybe for the first time, the scandal of a relationship was taken to a new level, with more people commenting on and evaluating it than ever before, all presented to us on a platter via the internet and its various social media platforms. And the process continues today through blogs (like this one) and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

I have to admit, I continue to question our use of social media. Don't get me wrong, if you look for me on Facebook (or X), you will find me there. Some of you may even be accessing this blog via social media links. My problem is not that I do not see uses for the social-media giants. I am just convinced that too many people have no idea how to use their social media accounts. Too many people seem to operate under the assumption that whatever they don't dare say in person to someone is quite okay to publish on social media for anyone who wants to read it. Too often, private fights are made public, and passive-aggressive people are being given an incredible voice; none of this is good. Social media has a huge upside; it gives each of us the ability to connect and encourage, but only if we know how to use it. Beyond that purpose, social media is dangerous and, if not used properly, quite possibly useless or, at worst, horribly damaging to its users.

Ezekiel argues that the vine is useful for only one thing: producing fruit. Other than that, it is useless. Fruit-bearing trees may give fruit, but they can also be used in other ways; they can provide shade in the heat of the day, and even when their existence is brought to an end, the wood that is left can be used to build useful things, even if it is just pegs on which things can be hung. But this is not the case with the vine. Once the vine stops giving fruit, there is nothing useful left that it can do.

In light of Ezekiel, it is probably no surprise that Jesus compares us to the vine. He says that as long as we are connected to him, we will bear fruit. However, being detached from him means there is nothing constructive left for us to do. With no purpose left for us to accomplish, the only thing left for us is to be discarded and burned.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 16

 

… as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness. – Ezekiel 14:20

Today's Scripture Reading (August 7, 2026): Ezekiel 14

In the ancient Ugaritic texts, there is a story about a wise man named Danel. Danel is described as a good and just man, one who judges the cause of the widow and defends the rights of the orphan. The text itself comes from Ugarit in Northern Syria and was written around the fourteenth century B.C.E. It has many parallels with Hebrew writing, including Hebrew poetic parallelism and the use of the word El to describe God. El is also used to describe God in some portions of the Books of Moses. But the Ugaritic texts are not Hebrew. The last Ugarit King, Ammurapi, reigned around 1215 to 1180 B.C.E. At that time, the king wrote a letter describing the dire situation of the Near Eastern peoples, who were struggling under threat from the Sea Peoples, seafaring raiders from the Aegean Sea in southern Europe. Apparently, the help never came, and the city was destroyed around 1178 B.C.E., about 600 years before Ezekiel was written. And yet, even though Ugarit was gone, the story of this wise man named Danel continued to be told throughout the Middle Eastern cultures. Danel became the pattern and description of a just man.

The original Hebrew text of this passage mentions the name Danel, and not Daniel. Translators have most likely made the change to Daniel because Danel is not a wise man from Hebrew literature (both Noah and Job are heroes of the Hebrew Bible). But there is a problem with the interpretation that the wise man mentioned in this passage is Daniel, the survivor of the lion's den. Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel. In fact, large portions of the story of Daniel occur long after the events being described here by Ezekiel. And the reality is that the story of Daniel and the captivity would not be complete, nor a part of the wisdom literature of Israel, until well after the time of the writing of Ezekiel. Including Daniel on this list really doesn't make sense. And the placement of the name Danel between Noah and Job would also seem to indicate that Danel was a man from antiquity, just as Noah and Job were. This chronology would seem to rule out Daniel and leave us with the Ugarit Danel as the best option in our attempt to identify the man that Ezekiel was describing.

However, all three of these men are also linked by their inability to save their cultures. Noah's righteousness was only good enough to save himself and his family during the time of the flood, Job's righteousness was only good enough to save himself, he lost all of his children in the tragedy at the beginning the story told by the book that bears his name, and while Danel might have been concerned about the widows and the orphans and had become the pattern of a just man, in the end Danel could not save his culture either. His city was burned, and his culture died. All that was left was this story of a wise man who had once lived in northern Syria. Ezekiel's message is clear. Each of these exiles needed to be righteous to be saved; they could not depend on anyone else. However, incredible men like Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah would not be able to save Israel any more than Noah, Danel, and Job could save theirs. Each person needed to develop their own relationship with God. And each person still does.      

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 15